


A Little Past Little Rock

by NerdyHalfling



Series: Smol Naddpod Things [11]
Category: Not Another D&D Podcast (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Heartbreak, Roadtrip, Songfic, but like in a sad way
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-04
Updated: 2020-10-04
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:35:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 938
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26825980
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NerdyHalfling/pseuds/NerdyHalfling
Summary: "So with nothing more than a tank of gasI drove away without looking backAnd I guess that's how I got where I amGoing anywhere as fast as I can"Sometime after his breakup with Gemma, Hardwon decides he has to leave Irondeep. We follow him as he's driving his shitty car with no sense of purpose, trying to put his ex behind him.Inspired by the song A Little Past Little Rock by Lee Ann Womack
Relationships: Gemma Bronzebeard/Hardwon Surefoot
Series: Smol Naddpod Things [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1826578
Comments: 4
Kudos: 4





	A Little Past Little Rock

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Noah](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Noah/gifts).



An old car with a lonesome driver is snaking its way along seemingly never ending roads. It’s been almost five hours since he left Irondeep with a full tank of gas, a bag with some clothes and his phone charger, and what little money he has to his name. The sky is darkening around him as afternoon is turning into evening. It feels like a relief that he can no longer turn around and be home before night time. 

__

A part of him still wants to turn the car around, lay on the gas and tear home to her, but there is no home to her anymore, hasn’t been for some time now. It’s just his room in the group home, streets that are filled with her, high school hallways that are filled with her, a gas station parking lot that’s filled with her. No, he had to leave. It’s the only way to get away, and he has to get away so that he can move on and stop thinking about Gemma all the time. 

__

Tired of the quiet he turns on the radio, the speakers are trash, so the sound is annoying and scratchy. Gemma usually brought her Bluetooth speaker when they drove his car, but Hardwon doesn’t have a Bluetooth speaker, so after five or so minutes he turns it off and the infuriating silence settles again. 

__

Now he’s thinking about her and her Bluetooth speaker of course, and the music she’d be queueing if she was here right now and he can practically hear the mind numbing tune of Don’t You Want Me, and to his great annoyance he kind of misses it. It, and any other entirely terrible synth pop song she would play while they drove around. He’s not sure how much further he’s gotten when he finds himself singing the stupid song, the words passing his lips like the smallest acts of treason. She’s not supposed to follow him. 

According to the sign he passed he’s-not-sure-how-long ago, maybe half an hour, maybe more, he’s a little past Little Rock. It doesn’t matter though, he’s not going anywhere special, he’s going to wherever over Gemma is, and judging by the fact that he’s still muttering the words to that idiotic song he’s still far away from there. 

Something has to change, so in an attempt to chase the ghost of Gemma away he turns the radio back on, hoping at least to chase the song away. It helps somewhat as he’s soon too irritated by the crackling noise of the broken speakers to think about the song or about Gemma or about how they would passionately sing along together when no one was around to judge him for it. Well, he’s almost too annoyed to think of it anyway. 

It takes a while, but through focusing on the radio and keeping his hands on the wheel, driving forward, he gets into a rhythm. The landscape passes by outside the window and things are going well, he goes from trying to identify the songs between the crackling of the speakers to just focusing on the unending road. He isn’t paying attention when the song shifts to a Roxette tune he knows just a little better than he likes to admit, and so he doesn’t notice it until the chorus plays and he swears the sound quality is at least marginally better when the Sweding pop duo’s voices get his attention. 

_ Listen to your heart, when he’s calling for you,  _

_ Listen to your heart, there’s nothing else you can do, _

_ I don’t know where you’re going, and I don’t know why, _

_ But listen to your heart, before you tell him goodbye _

__

It’s just that Hardwon can’t listen to his heart, because his heart wants him to turn around and drive back to Irondeep, which he can’t do. Driving back to Irondeep means he’ll see her on every corner regardless of whether she’s actually there or not. Driving back to Irondeep means having to talk to her friends at school, it means avoiding Jaina’s disapproving gaze and being surrounded by the ghost of a dead relationship no matter where he turns. Besides, the song’s got it all wrong, goodbye has already happened, it’s too late to listen to anyone’s heart now. Even if it wasn’t too late, he wasn’t the one who said goodbye. Gemma broke up with him. Their hearts want different things, so his heart doesn’t get a vote. Leaving is the only tolerable option left, so he’s got to keep his head clear and his heart out of the decision making.

The song ends. Hardwon’s driving faster. Evening has at some point turned into night. Irondeep is far behind him now. He still has no clue where he’s going, other than away, but what does it matter? He stops at a gas station, gets some food, more gas, then he’s back behind the wheel. Somewhere out there is an enthusiastic woman and a small former boy scout talking about how this shitty apartment they were just looking at would be perfect if only they could get a third roommate, but Hardwon doesn’t know that yet. He doesn’t know he’ll meet them in a shabby diner several hours from now while they’re getting breakfast after a night of too much booze. It's too soon to know what lies ahead still. For now it’s just him and the road and learning more and more for every mile that this is what leaving feels like. 

**_I'm learning more with every mile_ **   
**_Just how leaving feels_ **   
**_It's a lonely stretch of blacktop_ **   
**_Out into the blue_ **

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! 
> 
> The songs mentioned/referenced are: A Little Past Little Rock by Lee Ann Womack, Don't You Want Me by The Human League and Listen to Your Heart by Roxette.


End file.
